I’m Mariko, a remote-working corporate employee in my 40s. I live with my husband, Takayoshi, also in his 40s, and our daughter, Sari, a eighth-grader. Both of our parents live nearby, but since my mother-in-law, Sanae (in her 70s), and I haven’t gotten along since day one of our marriage, my husband has always taken our daughter to his parents’ house by himself since she was little. Now that she’s hitting her rebellious phase, her attitude has gone downhill, and she’s been taking it out on me. To make matters worse, even though she knows damn well I’m terrified of dogs, she started nagging me to get one just to spite me.